Worldwide, experts estimate that 80 percent of people will experience back pain at some point in their lives.
And even though back pain is the third most common reason for visits to a doctor’s office, most people don’t understand the point when they need to seek treatment for their discomfort. Fortunately, there are a few, easy ways to tell when you need to make a phone call to an expert.
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Your pain does not get better with rest.
Your back is a complex system of nerves, bones, muscles, and connective tissues. Inflammation of or injury to any of these structures can result in pain. However, in most cases that pain will begin to subside when you sit down or lay down.
Pain that interferes with your ability to sit in a chair, lay down or sleep is often a symptom of a deeper problem. When a disc is compressed or has ruptured, the pressure it places on the surrounding nerves often does not go away with rest. Instead, many people find they are unable to get comfortable no matter what they do.
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Your pain is getting worse over time.
Your spine houses a vital part of your central nervous system – your spinal cord. From there, peripheral nerves radiate to other areas of your body including your arms, hands, legs, and feet.
When inflammation or injury happens to your spine, the radiating nerves are also affected. What starts as a pain in your back may become radiating pain, burning, numbness or tingling in your hips, legs, feet, shoulders, arms, or hands. At this point, the longer you wait to see a doctor, the greater the risk of nerve damage.
Of course, you may not even realize how your back pain has worsened over time. Pain progression is often subtle, losing mobility and function a little at a time. If you can look back on the things you used to do that you no longer can, it is time to make a call.
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You experience back pain, period.
Pain is your body’s early warning system. Anytime there is something wrong, from nerve impingement to muscle strain, your body sends signals to your brain where it is interpreted as pain.
Yet, somewhere along the way, we are conditioned to ignore this red flag. Perhaps we are too busy. Perhaps we worry that treatment will make the pain worse. Or perhaps we worry that the only solution will be surgery.
Fortunately, the most effective treatment option for back pain is as simple as sitting in a chair.
Spinal decompression therapy is ideal for disc issues that may be causing pain and radiating numbness, tingling, burning, or discomfort. After one, non-invasive 20-minute treatment, many patients find relief. Over time, their back pain resolves, and they realize just how much of their life they had been skipping.
Call CORE Chiropractic today or schedule your consultation online and stop putting off your back pain.